Dynamically Updating a Websheet Configuration

1. A computer system comprising a processor and a computer-readable memory unit coupled to said processor, said memory unit containing instructions that when executed by said processor implement a method of updating a configuration of a websheet in a network computing environment, said method comprising: receiving, at said computer system via a browser running on said computer system, a web page having said websheet from a server computing unit, said websheet comprising a plurality of cells associated with a plurality of data values, wherein said plurality of data values is stored in a table of a relational database stored in a storage unit coupled to said server computing unit and comprises: a first set of data values displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, and a second set of data values that specifies said configuration of said websheet, said second set not being displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, wherein a cell of said plurality of cells includes a data value of said first set, wherein said configuration of said websheet includes a configuration of said cell, and wherein said configuration of said cell is specified by multiple data values of said second set; activating, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a link to a data value input form, wherein said link is on said websheet, and wherein said data value input form is not said websheet and is not any other websheet; exiting said websheet via said browser in response to said activating said link to said data value input form; displaying said data value input form at said computer system via said browser and in response to said activating said link to said data value input form, wherein said displaying said data value input form includes: querying said relational database a first time, wherein said querying said first time includes retrieving said multiple data values of said second set from a plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database; and displaying, at said computer system and in response to said querying, said multiple data values of said second set in a plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, wherein a data value of said multiple data values of said second set indicates a first data type that categorizes said data value of said first set and is included in an entry field of said plurality of entry fields; replacing, in said entry field of said data value input form and subsequent to said displaying said data value input form, said data value of said second set with a replacement data value that indicates a second data type that categorizes an update of said data value of said first set, wherein said second data type is different from said first data type; updating, in a field of said plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database and in response to said replacing, said data value of said second set with said replacement data value that indicates said second data type, wherein a result of said updating said data value of said second set is an association in said table of said relational database between said cell and said replacement data value; and displaying, subsequent to said updating said data value of said second set, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said configuration of said websheet, wherein said displaying said websheet includes: querying said relational database a second time, wherein said querying said second time includes retrieving said replacement data value that indicates said second data type from said field of said plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database; and displaying, in response to said querying said second time, said first set with said data value of said first set replaced by said update of said data value of said first set, wherein said displaying said first set includes displaying said update of said data value of said first set as a data value of a data type indicated by said replacement data value, and wherein said data type indicated by said replacement data value is said second data type.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of data values further comprises: a third set of one or more data values providing one or more calculations in a one-to-one correspondence, said third set including a data value to be calculated to provide a calculation of said one or more calculations, said calculation determining said data value of said first set.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein said method further comprises executing one or more functions provided by a scripting programming language and residing at said computer system, said executing comprising interpreting said data value included in said third set, said interpreting performing said calculation to determine said data value of said first set.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: extracting data values from said plurality of data values stored in said table; assembling said extracted data values into one or more data structures; and rendering said data value input form and said websheet for display at said computer system, said rendering based on said one or more data structures.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: selecting, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a second link to said data value input form, wherein said second link is on said websheet; displaying, in a display type entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a type of a display of a second cell in said websheet, wherein said second cell includes a second data value of said first set; wherein said displaying said type of said display is performed in response to said selecting said second link, wherein said type of said display is a first list of values, wherein each value of said first list of values is permitted to be in said second cell based on a predefined criterion, and wherein said first list of values includes said second data value of said first set; replacing, in said display type entry field and subsequent to said displaying said type of said display, said first list of values with a second list of values that is different from said first list of values; and displaying, subsequent to said replacing said first list of values, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in a second update of said configuration of said websheet, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet includes displaying said second list of values as potential selections for an entry in said second cell.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said first list of values and prior to said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet, said second list of values to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said second list of values to said servlet, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said second cell and said second list of values; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: selecting, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a second link to said data value input form, wherein said second link is on said websheet; displaying, in a display type entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a type of a display of a second cell in said websheet, wherein said second cell includes a second data value of said first set, wherein said displaying said type of said display is performed in response to said selecting said second link, wherein said type of said display is a first list of colors, and wherein each color of said first list of colors is permitted to be a color of a background of said second cell based on a predefined criterion; replacing, in said display type entry field and subsequent to said displaying said type of said display, said first list of colors with a second list of colors that is different from said first list of colors; and displaying, subsequent to said replacing said first list of colors, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in a second update of said configuration of said websheet, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet includes displaying said second list of colors as potential selections for said color of said background of said second cell.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said first list of colors and prior to said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet, said second list of colors to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said second list of colors to said servlet, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said second cell and said second list of colors; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: selecting, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a second link to said data value input form, wherein said second link is on said websheet; displaying, in a display type entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a type of a display of a second cell in said websheet, wherein said second cell includes a second data value of said first set, wherein said displaying said type of said display is performed in response to said selecting said second link, wherein said type of said display is a first list of colors, and wherein each color of said first list of colors is permitted to be a color of said second data value of said first set based on a predefined criterion; replacing, in said display type entry field and subsequent to said displaying said type of said display, said first list of colors with a second list of colors that is different from said first list of colors; and displaying, subsequent to said replacing said first list of colors, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in a second update of said configuration of said websheet, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet includes displaying said second list of colors as potential selections for said color of said second data value of said first set.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said first list of colors and prior to said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet, said second list of colors to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said second list of colors to said servlet, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said second cell and said second list of colors; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said second update of said configuration of said websheet is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: selecting, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a second link to said data value input form, wherein said second link is on said websheet, wherein said second link is associated with a layout of said websheet, wherein said configuration of said websheet includes said layout, and wherein said layout includes an initial total number of rows of said websheet; displaying, in a row entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a first index number of a row of said websheet, wherein said displaying said first index number of said row is performed in response to said selecting said second link; replacing, in said row entry field and subsequent to said displaying said first index number, said first index number with a second index number that exceeds said initial total number of rows; and displaying, subsequent to said replacing said first index number, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said layout, wherein said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout includes displaying said websheet with an updated total number of rows that is equal to said second index number.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said first index number and prior to said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout, said second index number to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said second index number to said servlet, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates a determination by said servlet that said second index number exceeds said initial total number of rows, and wherein said acknowledgment further indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said second index number and a total number of rows of said websheet; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: selecting, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a second link to said data value input form, wherein said second link is on said websheet, wherein said second link is associated with a layout of said websheet, wherein said configuration of said websheet includes said layout, and wherein said layout includes an initial total number of columns of said websheet; displaying, in a column entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a first index number of a column of said websheet, wherein said displaying said first index number of said column is performed in response to said selecting said second link; replacing, in said column entry field and subsequent to said displaying said first index number, said first index number with a second index number that exceeds said initial total number of columns; and displaying, subsequent to said replacing said first index number, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said layout, wherein said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout includes displaying said websheet with an updated total number of columns that is equal to said second index number.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said first index number and prior to said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout, said second index number to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said second index number to said servlet, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates a determination by said servlet that said second index number exceeds said initial total number of columns, and wherein said acknowledgment further indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said second index number and a total number of columns of said websheet; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said update of said layout is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises displaying, subsequent to said displaying said data value input form, said multiple data values of said second set in respective entry fields of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, wherein said displaying said multiple data values includes: displaying, in a display type entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a type of a display of said second cell in said websheet, wherein said displaying said type of said display is performed in response to said selecting said link, wherein said type of said display is a predefined list selected from the group consisting of a list of values, a first list of colors and a second list of colors, wherein each value of said list of values is permitted to be in said cell, wherein each color of said first list of colors is permitted to be a color of a background of said cell, and wherein each color of said second list of colors is permitted to be a color of said data value of said first set; displaying, in a row entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a first index number of a row of said websheet, wherein said displaying said first index number of said row is performed in response to said selecting said link, and wherein said row includes said data value of said first set; and displaying, in a column entry field of said plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, a first index number of a column of said websheet, wherein said displaying said first index number of said column is performed in response to said selecting said link, and wherein said column includes said data value of said first set, and wherein said method further comprises updating, subsequent to said displaying said multiple data values, a value in a second entry field of said plurality of entry fields, wherein said second entry field is selected from the group consisting of said display type entry field, said row entry field and said column entry field.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises: sending, subsequent to said replacing said data value of said second set and prior to said displaying said websheet in said update of said configuration of said websheet, said replacement data value that indicates said second data type to a servlet running on said server computing unit; receiving, by said browser running on said computer system and subsequent to said sending said replacement data value, an acknowledgment from said servlet, wherein said acknowledgment indicates an execution of a query by said servlet to update said table of said relational database with an association between said replacement data value and said cell; exiting said data value input form subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment; and selecting a websheet link subsequent to said receiving said acknowledgment, wherein said displaying said websheet in said update of said configuration of said websheet is performed in response to said selecting said websheet link.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein said replacing said data value of said second set with said replacement data value includes selecting said replacement data value from a predefined set of values, wherein said predefined set of values includes a value that indicates an integer data type, a value that indicates a string data type, and a value that indicates a floating point data type.

18. A computer program product, comprising a computer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code stored therein, said computer-readable program code containing instructions configured to be executed by a processor of a computer system to implement a method of updating a configuration of a websheet in a network computing environment, said method comprising: receiving, at said computer system via a browser running on said computer system, a web page having said websheet from a server computing unit, said websheet comprising a plurality of cells associated with a plurality of data values, wherein said plurality of data values is stored in a table of a relational database stored in a storage unit coupled to said server computing unit and comprises: a first set of data values displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, and a second set of data values that specifies said configuration of said websheet, said second set not being displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, wherein a cell of said plurality of cells includes a data value of said first set, wherein said configuration of said websheet includes a configuration of said cell, and wherein said configuration of said cell is specified by multiple data values of said second set; activating, subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet, a link to a data value input form, wherein said link is on said websheet, and wherein said data value input form is not said websheet and is not any other websheet; exiting said websheet via said browser in response to said activating said link to said data value input form; displaying said data value input form at said computer system via said browser and in response to said activating said link to said data value input form, wherein said displaying said data value input form includes: querying said relational database a first time, wherein said querying said first time includes retrieving said multiple data values of said second set from a plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database; and displaying, at said computer system and in response to said querying, said multiple data values of said second set in a plurality of entry fields of said data value input form, wherein a data value of said multiple data values of said second set indicates a first data type that categorizes said data value of said first set and is included in an entry field of said plurality of entry fields; replacing, in said entry field of said data value input form and subsequent to said displaying said data value input form, said data value of said second set with a replacement data value that indicates a second data type that categorizes an update of said data value of said first set, wherein said second data type is different from said first data type; updating, in a field of said plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database and in response to said replacing, said data value of said second set with said replacement data value that indicates said second data type, wherein a result of said updating said data value of said second set is an association in said table of said relational database between said cell and said replacement data value; and displaying, subsequent to said updating said data value of said second set, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said configuration of said websheet, wherein said displaying said websheet includes: querying said relational database a second time, wherein said querying said second time includes retrieving said replacement data value that indicates said second data type from said field of said plurality of fields included in said table of said relational database; and displaying, in response to said querying said second time, said first set with said data value of said first set replaced by said update of said data value of said first set, wherein said displaying said first set includes displaying said update of said data value of said first set as a data value of a data type indicated by said replacement data value, and wherein said data type indicated by said replacement data value is said second data type.

19. A computer system comprising a processor and a computer-readable memory unit coupled to said processor, said memory unit containing instructions that when executed by said processor implement a method of updating a configuration of a websheet in a network computing environment, said method comprising: receiving, at said computer system via a browser running on said computer system, a web page having said websheet from a server computing unit, said websheet comprising a plurality of cells associated with a plurality of data values, wherein said plurality of data values is stored in a table of a relational database stored in a storage unit coupled to said server computing unit and comprises: a first set of data values displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, and a second set of data values associated with said configuration, said second set not being displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, wherein a cell of said plurality of cells includes a data value of said first set and is associated with multiple data values of said second set; selecting a link on said websheet subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet; exiting said websheet via said browser in response to said selecting said link on said websheet; receiving, at said computer system via said browser and in response to said selecting said link on said websheet, a data value input form from said server computing unit, said data value input form displaying at said computer system said multiple data values of said second set in a plurality of entry fields of said data value input form via a first query of said database, wherein a data value of said multiple data values of said second set indicates a first data type that categorizes said data value of said first set and is included in an entry field of said plurality of entry fields, wherein said websheet is different from said data value input form; replacing, in said entry field of said data value input form and subsequent to said receiving said data value input form, said data value of said second set with a replacement data value that indicates a second data type that categorizes an update of said data value of said first set, wherein said second data type is different from said first data type; displaying, subsequent to said replacing, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said configuration provided by a second query of said database, wherein said displaying said websheet includes displaying said first set with said data value of said first set replaced by said update of said data value of said first set, and wherein said displaying said websheet further includes displaying said update of said data value of said first set as a data value of said second data type.

20. A computer program product, comprising a computer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable program code stored therein, said computer-readable program code containing instructions configured to be executed by a processor of a computer system to implement a method of updating a configuration of a websheet in a network computing environment, said method comprising: receiving, at said computer system via a browser running on said computer system, a web page having said websheet from a server computing unit, said websheet comprising a plurality of cells associated with a plurality of data values, wherein said plurality of data values is stored in a table of a relational database stored in a storage unit coupled to said server computing unit and comprises: a first set of data values displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, and a second set of data values associated with said configuration, said second set not being displayed on said websheet at said computer system in response to said computer system receiving said web page, wherein a cell of said plurality of cells includes a data value of said first set and is associated with multiple data values of said second set; selecting a link on said websheet subsequent to said receiving said web page having said websheet; exiting said websheet via said browser in response to said selecting said link on said websheet; receiving, at said computer system via said browser and in response to said selecting said link on said websheet, a data value input form from said server computing unit, said data value input form displaying at said computer system said multiple data values of said second set in a plurality of entry fields of said data value input form via a first query of said database, wherein a data value of said multiple data values of said second set indicates a first data type that categorizes said data value of said first set and is included in an entry field of said plurality of entry fields, wherein said websheet is different from said data value input form; replacing, in said entry field of said data value input form and subsequent to said receiving said data value input form, said data value of said second set with a replacement data value that indicates a second data type that categorizes an update of said data value of said first set, wherein said second data type is different from said first data type; displaying, subsequent to said replacing, said websheet at said computer system via said browser and in an update of said configuration provided by a second query of said database, wherein said displaying said websheet includes displaying said first set with said data value of said first set replaced by said update of said data value of said first set, and wherein said displaying said websheet further includes displaying said update of said data value of said first set as a data value of said second data type.